Penn College Business Students Tour New York Stock Exchange

Fifteen Pennsylvania College of Technology students recently received the requisite security clearance to tour the New York Stock Exchange, an almost-unheard-of consideration amid ongoing and intensive national vigilance.

"Ever since 9/11, the New York Stock Exchange has been on heightened alert, and security has increased dramatically," explained Roy A. Fletcher, assistant professor of business administration/banking and finance, in whose Investments class the students are enrolled. "No longer are there general public tours, although occasional accommodations are made for some academic institutions on a very limited basis."

Early in his career, Fletcher said, he was sponsored by an exchange member, Jack Flanagan, as part of broader research at the NYSE. Flanagan's firm was bought out when the stock exchange merged with Archipelago Holdings Inc. in 2005; however, one of his former employees and current education director Murray Teitelbaum still is with the exchange. Despite the passage of time, an e-mail to Teitelbaum resulted in an invitation to Fletcher and his students.

"Mr. Teitelbaum graciously received the students in the Board of Directors room, an impressive room with perhaps a 60-foot ceiling. There, he spoke about how the exchange has been evolving into a global marketplace and how technology has complemented the way they do business," Fletcher said. "The students conducted themselves to the highest professional standard and demonstrated their knowledge of markets and business in general. I was very impressed. Later, the students viewed the trading floor, where they again asked many questions of exchange officials."

The students took an Amtrak train from Harrisburg to New York, where they spent the night and toured the city particularly the Wall Street area. Students had to undergo security clearance in advance of their visit, as well as additional precautions prior to entering the building.

"The trip was the perfect cap to my four-year degree. It was encouraging to realize that the education I have received here at Penn College allowed me to hold and understand a conversation with a high-ranking professional at the New York Stock Exchange," said Elizabeth A. Anzalone, a business administration: banking and finance student from York. "Additionally, the trip allowed me to utilize the securities market and transaction theory that I have acquired throughout my major and apply it to a professional environment, more specifically our country's dominant organized exchange."

While acknowledging the educational value of classroom learning, she said visiting the stock exchange and observing financial markets on a national and even global scale offered a perspective seldom encountered.

"It was an enlightening experience to spend time with a group of students in my major, allowing us to discuss our different perspectives in an attempt to expand our knowledge base. After participating in this trip, I am further convinced that Penn College really does offer "˜degrees that work'."

"Being at the exchange gave a pulse to what I've learned about in classes at Penn College," added Seth E. Martin, a banking and finance major from Palmyra. "It was like standing at the center of the universe; you can't overestimate the importance that the exchange has, and the impact it has around the world every day."

Not only did students get to view the stock exchange and speak directly with someone on the inside, he added, "I got to learn more about the people who I was there with personally, what they want to accomplish after graduation and their perspective about the finance field.

"It was a very positive experience that most likely we won't get another chance to ever do again."

Accompanying Fletcher, Anzalone and Martin were banking and finance students Kristy D. Bachman, Kreamer; Brandi R. Hoffman, Watsontown; Billy J. Echols, Hamburg; Steven C. Rupp, Montoursville; and Adam M. Wolf, Muncy. Business administration: management students making the trip were Shannah L. Carvell, Berwick; Stephanie A. Golder, Hughesville; Dustin R. Derr, Lewisburg; Michael P. Stainbrook, Williamsport; and William J. Steinhauser III, Lansdale. Students in other majors who participated were Corey M. Pollom, Williamsport, business administration: small business and entrepreneurship; JoAnna E. Prusak, Jersey Shore, accounting; and Blake J. Waybright, Gettysburg, technology management.

For more about the School of Business and Computer Technologies, visit online , or call (570) 327-4517. For general information about Penn College, visit on the Web, e-mail or call toll-free (800) 367-9222.